25 Ways You Could be Saving Money Today

Saving money is crucial. Maybe you’re trying to reach a goal of buying a home or moving to a new place. Maybe you have a big purchase in mind, like a car, or want to have extra cash for holiday gifts. Perhaps you’re looking toward retirement and aiming to set yourself up for success. For many people, it’s not that they don’t want to save money, but that they don’t know where to begin—which is why The Simple Dollar rounded up 25 simple ways to start saving money right now.

When it comes to savings, many experts say that a good rule of thumb is having the equivalent of six to eight months of expenses set aside. That money can help out in a crisis, such as losing your job or encountering an unexpected illness. That cash also accrues some value in an account, thanks to bank interest programs. However, that money only accounts for emergency savings and should be kept in an account from which you can easily and quickly draw money. Once you’ve met your base savings goals, you can put money into investments, pay off student debt, or earn toward a specific goal.

However, as important as savings may be, many Americans simply aren’t making it happen. One study from GOBankingRates showed that 57% of the 8,000 people it polled had under $1,000 in savings and 39% had nothing saved at all. And, according to the Economic Policy Institute, almost half of American families have nothing in retirement savings.